Customer Reviews

The Origins of the Partition of India 1936-1947 (Oxford University South Asian Studies Series)

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This is an excellent and rare review of what the British did to split India. It has some stunning statistics showing how little support the Muslim League really had from Indian Muslims. The League had been set up in 1905 at the instigation of the British Viceroy, and its membership was entirely made up the rich. The first meeting positioned the League against the nationalist movement and in support of the imperial government. Into the 1930s, membership of the League remained in the few thousands. Meetings of its central committee were usually held with as few as 10 members present. League resolutions seldom dealt with economic and social issues of concern to the ordinary Muslim.

Despite all that, the British treated the League on par with the Congress Party under Mahatma Gandhi with its mass following. They used it to stall nationalist demands, and ultimately, to split the country.

This is essential reading for anyone interested in modern Indian history.